Does Central Basin Water Director Leticia Vasquez Live in Her District?

Central Basin Water District 4 Director Leticia Vasquez.

CB General Manager informs Board members that Vasquez’ mail returned “No such person at this address.”

By Brian Hews

HMG-CN has exclusively learned that Central Basin Municipal Water District (CB) District 4 Director Leticia Vasquez, who has pulled election papers to run for re-election for her CB Water Board seat, likely does not live in her District, a violation of state law punishable by jail time, financial penalty, or both.

Several current area resident have also informed HMG-CN via e-mail and comments left on HMG-CN’s website, loscerritosnews.net, that Vasquez does not live at her Lynwood home, instead residing for years at the Baldwin Hills home of Los Angeles based attorney Ron Wilson.

The revelation came to light when Vasquez, who recently married Wilson, applied for medical benefits for her new husband.

Following procedure, CB mailed paperwork to Vasquez’ reported home address in Lynwood, a few days later the mail was returned to the District marked “No such person at this address.”

CB General Manager Kevin Hunt informed CB Directors Arturo “Art” Chacon, Phil Hawkins, and one other Director, of the returned mail, Chacon and Hawkins subsequently told HMG-CN.

HMG-CN obtained Vasquez’ husband’s home address in Baldwin Hills, entered the address in Google, clicked on Google Street View, and, in a seemingly incredible coincidence,  found  Director Vasquez’ black Mercedes in front of Wilson’s house.

A Feb. 2015 Google street view picture of Ron Wilson’s house with Director Vasquez’ car parked in front.

“It’s her car,” said CB Director Art Chacon, “that’s very interesting.”

Charges that Vasquez has lied about her place of residence are not new, with HMG-CN exclusively reporting in January 2015 on a Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) investigation into complaints that Vasquez lied about her place of residence during her 2012 CB campaign.

Exclusive: Central Basin Director Leticia Vasquez Under Investigation by FPPC for Whistleblower Lawsuit Vote and Residency Issues

In a strange twist, her campaign consultant and heavy contributor to Vasquez’ 2012 election, former CB director and convicted felon Ric Mayer, was sentenced to 6-months in jail and community service for lying about his place of residence while running for the South Gate City Council.

Lynwood Councilwoman Maria Santillan-Beas.

Lynwood City Councilmember and a challenger to Vasquez’ Water Board seat, Maria Santillan-Beas told HMG-CN, “this is the same Leticia Vasquez that we recalled from the Lynwood Council in 2007. She was recalled over a sweet heart deal where 1,000 families were being forced out of their homes for a sports complex.  As it is, we have little housing, these people felt threatened because they weren’t going to find replacement housing in Lynwood. She didn’t even finish her term on the council. There have been rumors made by her neighbors that she does not live in the property on Walnut (Lynwood). How can she represent the district and not reside in the district.  Clearly a violation.”

In 2007, while a member of the Lynwood City Council, Vasquez, along with Mayor Louis Byrd and council members Fernando Pedroza, and Alfreddie Johnson Jr. were recalled amid charges of corruption by over 70% of those who cast ballots.

Coincidentally, only councilmember Maria Santillan was not a target for recall.

CB Director Phil Hawkins, a Cerritos resident, told HMG-CN, “ Director Chacon and I were at Central Basin sitting at the conference table when [CB-GM] Hunt told us that they [CB] sent medical forms to the house and it came back ‘this person does not live here.’ He [Hunt] was dead serious.”

CB Director Arturo Chacon told HMG-CN, “I have asked the General Manager to file a complaint with the Ethics Committee and to conduct an investigation. If Central Basin fails to aggressively investigate this charge, given that we now have evidence of Vasquez not living in the district, I will personally be contacting the District Attorney and FPPC. We cannot look the other way and continue this legacy of corruption at Central Basin.”

Director Vasquez does not answer direct emails from HMG-CN, instead asking emails to be sent to Joseph Legaspi at CB. Several emails to CB asking Ms. Vasquez for comment went unreturned.